Coca and Cocaine in the Andes

Business & Finance, Economics
Cover of the book Coca and Cocaine in the Andes by Robert Mihelli, GRIN Publishing
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Robert Mihelli ISBN: 9783638236065
Publisher: GRIN Publishing Publication: November 28, 2003
Imprint: GRIN Publishing Language: English
Author: Robert Mihelli
ISBN: 9783638236065
Publisher: GRIN Publishing
Publication: November 28, 2003
Imprint: GRIN Publishing
Language: English

Seminar paper from the year 2002 in the subject Geography / Earth Science - Economic Geography, grade: 1,2 (A+), RWTH Aachen University (Geography Institute), 15 entries in the bibliography, language: English, abstract: Andean farmers have good financial reasons for continuing to grow coca, and it is unlikely that theeconomic equation can be substantially altered. Cocaine is as cheap and plentiful as ever on U.S.streets, the biggest market for cocaine; the State Department estimates that 1999 coca productionincreased. The current U.S. retail cocaine market is somewhere between $30 billion and $150 billion. Efforts at interdiction and crop substitution have failed, the former because the amounts of cocaineimported are so large that seizures have little overall impact, the latter both because alternative cropsare intrinsically less lucrative and because there is no infrastructure to bring such crops to market. TheU.S. General Accounting Office report to Congress argued that crop substitution was unlikely tosucceed, and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has calculated the cost of raw coca as makingup less than 1 percent of the retail cost of refined cocaine in the U.S. The latter statistic means thattraffickers could easily afford to increase what they pay for raw coca if a shortage occurred, therebystimulating production. In order to explain why the andean Countries prefer to grow coca, it is important to understand that thecoca plant is a part of the culture, as history shows and there is a difference between the existence ofcoca and cocaine. The usage and the production of the coca plant changed in the last hundred years,and the monocultural development carry tremendous illegal capacities. But on the other hand, it isoriginally a cultural heritage. To explain this issue one must know where it is cultivated, why and whatproblems it causes for the Andean Countries, and not only for these countries, but on a globalscale.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Seminar paper from the year 2002 in the subject Geography / Earth Science - Economic Geography, grade: 1,2 (A+), RWTH Aachen University (Geography Institute), 15 entries in the bibliography, language: English, abstract: Andean farmers have good financial reasons for continuing to grow coca, and it is unlikely that theeconomic equation can be substantially altered. Cocaine is as cheap and plentiful as ever on U.S.streets, the biggest market for cocaine; the State Department estimates that 1999 coca productionincreased. The current U.S. retail cocaine market is somewhere between $30 billion and $150 billion. Efforts at interdiction and crop substitution have failed, the former because the amounts of cocaineimported are so large that seizures have little overall impact, the latter both because alternative cropsare intrinsically less lucrative and because there is no infrastructure to bring such crops to market. TheU.S. General Accounting Office report to Congress argued that crop substitution was unlikely tosucceed, and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has calculated the cost of raw coca as makingup less than 1 percent of the retail cost of refined cocaine in the U.S. The latter statistic means thattraffickers could easily afford to increase what they pay for raw coca if a shortage occurred, therebystimulating production. In order to explain why the andean Countries prefer to grow coca, it is important to understand that thecoca plant is a part of the culture, as history shows and there is a difference between the existence ofcoca and cocaine. The usage and the production of the coca plant changed in the last hundred years,and the monocultural development carry tremendous illegal capacities. But on the other hand, it isoriginally a cultural heritage. To explain this issue one must know where it is cultivated, why and whatproblems it causes for the Andean Countries, and not only for these countries, but on a globalscale.

More books from GRIN Publishing

Cover of the book Environmental accounting by Robert Mihelli
Cover of the book Between Heads and Phrases by Robert Mihelli
Cover of the book Intercultural communication as a strategy of global marketing by Robert Mihelli
Cover of the book Selected Aspects in the Development of Political Interest Groups by Robert Mihelli
Cover of the book Competitive forces BMW. An analysis of the effects by Robert Mihelli
Cover of the book 'Singing Nations': National Anthems as a Cultural Expression of the Formation, Reproduction and Promotion of National Identity in France and Germany by Robert Mihelli
Cover of the book Carrefour Enters India by Robert Mihelli
Cover of the book Grundlagen jüdisch-feministischer Sozialethik im Deutschen Kaiserreich am Beispiel von Bertha Pappenheim by Robert Mihelli
Cover of the book Elements of magical realism in Zakes Mda's novel She plays with the darkness by Robert Mihelli
Cover of the book Joseph Stalin's Life and Political Power. The Man and the Symbol by Robert Mihelli
Cover of the book The siege of Khe Sanh. An extreme case of crisis journalism? by Robert Mihelli
Cover of the book The house as Gothic element in Anglo-American fiction (18th - 20th century) by Robert Mihelli
Cover of the book Beautiful landscape, drinking and fighting. Stereotypes of the Irish abroad by Robert Mihelli
Cover of the book Malcolm X's Ideology: From the Puritan/Nation-of-Islam Doctrine to Independence Rhetoric by Robert Mihelli
Cover of the book African American Vernacular English by Robert Mihelli
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy